


One Word

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Character Study, M/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-21
Updated: 2006-03-21
Packaged: 2019-02-02 14:37:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12728493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: Sam can't have Jack, so she makes a move.  An episode tag to Season 8, Covenant. (No Pete in this universe).





	One Word

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

Shocked and baffled to find his lap full of an eager Sam Carter, Daniel pushed gently at her shoulders, putting some space between them in the cramped confines of the sporty convertible. He was anxious to stop her before things went any farther. "Uh, Sam? I'm sorry. I can't do this. I have...uh. Someone I'm committed to. Who's committed to me."

He blinked at her from behind his glasses, his eyebrows climbing up his forehead as he waited for her reaction. At her shocked expression and creeping blush, he hastened to add, "It's not your fault. I'm flattered! Really! If I were available, I'd..."

Daniel stopped talking, suddenly as embarrassed as Sam seemed to be. "Look, Sam, I'm sorry we never told you."

Sam's wide blue eyes flashed as she looked directly into Daniel's face. "We?" Her hands clamped down painfully on his upper arms.

"I," Daniel hastened to correct. "I meant I. I'm sorry I never told you." He was having trouble meeting Sam's shrewd eyes,knowing he'd never get out of this gracefully now. Jack would skin him alive. Kill him outright, tan his sorry hide, and then nail it to his den wall.

"You said 'we', Daniel." She frowned at him. "So who is it?"

Daniel's eyes rolled first to his left, where he found the Mustang's steering wheel suddenly fascinating, and then to his right, where he studied the breeze moving through the maple trees next to the car.

"Daniel?" Sam whispered.

He dragged his eyes back to her frank gaze. She knew. He knew she knew. He bit his lower lip, refusing to say another word, convinced if he did he'd tell her the whole truth, like he'd wanted to from the beginning.

Jack had insisted on their staying completely in the closet. And now Daniel had thrown open the door to the one person who'd be most hurt by the truth, who could do the most damage to Jack's career, who was the most able to read between the lines and glean what was going on.

Sam reached for the handle, pushed open the Mustang's door, and slid off Daniel's lap. She went around the back of the car and climbed into the driver's seat, slamming her door. Her hands on the steering wheel, eyes focusing somewhere out on the shiny red hood, she said in a low voice, "Close your damned door, Daniel. We're leaving now."

He pulled it shut and tilted his head back onto his seat with a thunk. "I'm sorry, Sam," he said again, this time with real regret. "Please believe me. I wish we could have told you."

Sam reached for her sunglasses and slipped them on her face. "Do you love him?"

He turned his head to look at her stony profile. "Yes," he said simply, honestly. "I do."

She nodded, reaching for the ignition to start the car. She sat still for a moment, the silence between them hanging heavily. Her hand on the gearshift by her knee, she spoke in a voice just audible over the sound of the rumbling engine. "Me, too, Daniel. Me, too."

She pushed the car into reverse and backed out of their space under the trees, driving into the rare sunlight and warmth of a Washington afternoon.

Daniel knew that he and Jack would have some decisions to make now. All because of a 'we' instead of an 'I'. One word.

finis


End file.
